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Purpose
To compare the longevity and marginal bone loss of narrow-diameter (�3.3-mm) versus
standard-diameter implants supporting single crowns.
OPEN ACCESS
Citation: Telles LH, Portella FF, Rivaldo EG (2019) Material and methods
Longevity and marginal bone loss of narrow-
diameter implants supporting single crowns: A The MEDLINE (via PubMed), Scopus, and SciELO databases were searched for relevant
systematic review. PLoS ONE 14(11): e0225046. publications. In addition, the scientific references provided by each of the implant companies
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225046 that appeared in the search were reviewed. Intervention studies comparing longevity and
Editor: Sompop Bencharit, Virginia Commonwealth bone loss between narrow-diameter and standard-diameter implants were included.
University, UNITED STATES
Methods
The present systematic review was registered in the PROSPERO platform (CRD42018117261)
and reported in accordance with the PRISMA statement [11]. The guiding research question
for this study was “Is there a difference in longevity and marginal bone loss between narrow-
diameter and standard-diameter implants when supporting single crowns in healthy
patients?”. In PICO format, this question may be phrased as follows:
P–healthy patients;
I–implants supporting single crowns;
C–narrow-diameter versus standard-diameter implants;
O–longevity of implant and marginal bone loss.
Eligibility criteria
Publications that met the following eligibility criteria were included:
a. intervention studies in humans which evaluated the longevity of implants retaining single
crowns; observational prospective studies were not included.
b. with at least one group of patients which received narrow-diameter implants and one
group which received standard-diameter implants, with a minimum of 10 participants in
each group;
Results
Study selection
Fig 1 provides a flow diagram of study selection. The database search (PubMed, Scopus, and
SciELO) retrieved 6,402 articles. A hand search of the reference lists provided by manufactur-
ers yielded a further 1,677. After exclusion of duplicate entries, 1,931 papers remained. Of
these, 1,819 were excluded after analysis of titles and abstracts. Thus, 112 articles were read in
full. None of these was found only on manufacturers’ reference lists. After full-text reading,
107 papers were removed for failure to meet the eligibility criteria. Of the 5 eligible articles
remaining, two were from the same study, but with different follow-up times [8,12]). The 4
remaining articles were included in the meta-analysis (Table 1).
Study characteristics
De Souza et al [13]. conducted a split-mouth randomized clinical trial in which patients
received Tissue Level implants (Straumann, Switzerland) with a diameter of 3.3 mm at one site
and 4.1 mm in another. Each patient received at least one implant of each diameter in the max-
illa or mandible, for a total of 44 implants placed (22 narrow and 22 standard). Periapical
radiographs were performed on the day of placement and at 1-year and 3-year follow-up. The
authors found no significant differences in marginal bone loss at any of the three follow-up
time points (immediate, 1 year, and 3 years). After 3 years of follow-up, the success rate was
100% for standard-diameter implants and 95.4% for narrow-diameter implants. One implant
presented a pocket depth >5 mm, with bleeding on probing and suppuration. Nevertheless,
the implant remained in position and functional, for a 100% survival rate in the narrow-diam-
eter group.
Santing et al [14] carried out a prospective intervention study using Bone Level implants
(Straumann, Switzerland) for single-tooth replacement in the maxilla. Sixty patients partici-
pated in the study, with each receiving a 3.3-mm (narrow) or 4.1-mm (standard) implant.
Overall, 12 narrow and 48 standard implants were placed. The authors compared bone loss on
periapical radiographs between implants placed in augmented sites and those placed in native
bone. There was no significant difference between groups, with a 100% survival rate at a maxi-
mum follow-up time of 18 months.
In a randomized clinical trial, Ioannidis et al [8,12] sought to compare loss of marginal
bone level with 3.3-mm versus 4.1-mm implants. Implants in the experiment group (n = 20)
were made from a Ti-Zr alloy, while those in the control group (n = 20) used conventional tita-
nium alloys. The implants were placed randomly at sites requiring single tooth replacement, at
any location in the maxilla or mandible, and were followed for up to 3 years. At 1-year follow-
up, all evaluated implants were in place and stable; two participants in the control group were
subsequently lost to follow-up. At the end of follow-up, 32 of the 40 included patients were
examined (15 control, 17 experiment). The other 8 patients were lost to follow-up. According
to the authors, there were no implant failures, giving a 100% survival rate for both groups over
3 years (among the implants examined at final follow-up).
A clinical trial by Andersen et al.[4] included 55 patients requiring single-tooth replace-
ments in the anterior region of the maxilla. Of these, 27 received 28 standard implants (diame-
ter 3.75 mm), and 28 patients received 32 narrow implants (diameter 3.25 mm). Two implants
in the narrow-diameter group were lost (93.8% survival rate), versus none in the standard
group (100%).
Synthesis of results
A meta-analysis considering those intervention studies (Fig 2) that allowed comparison of lon-
gevity between narrow and standard implants showed no difference between them (RR 0.98
[0.90, 1.07]). A sensitivity analysis including only the RCT (Fig 3) showed a similar risk ratio
for success among distinct diameters, with a slight increase in the 95% confidence interval (RR
1.00 [0.84, 1.20]).
Narrow implants were associated with greater marginal bone loss, with a mean 0.12 (0.06 to
0.18) mm of additional loss compared to standard implants (Fig 4). This difference did not
remain when only RCTs were included in the meta-analysis (Fig 5), the mean difference in
bone loss then being 0.06 (-0.18 to 0.30) mm.
Risk of bias
Fig 6 summarizes the analysis of risk of bias in the included studies. None of the studies
included all of the quality categories evaluated; blinding of assessors and patients was most
often neglected. Three of the four studies had some form of relationship with the industry.
Funnel plots analyses showed a low risk of publication bias, while the I2 value of 0% was con-
sistent with absence of statistical heterogeneity among studies, both for longevity and for mar-
ginal bone loss.
Fig 2. Forest plot of all intervention studies comparing the longevity of narrow and standard implants.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225046.g002
Fig 3. Forest plot of randomized clinical trials comparing the longevity of narrow and standard implants.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225046.g003
Discussion
The present literature review and meta-analysis was designed to help dental practitioners
decide which implant diameter to choose in settings that would allow placement of both nar-
row-diameter and standard implants to support single crowns. Despite the short follow-up
period of 3 years or less, longevity was shown not to differ between diameters. However, nar-
row-diameter implants may be associated with greater marginal bone loss—0.12 (0.06–0.18)
mm greater at 3-year follow-up. It bears stressing that the evaluation of implant success goes
beyond longevity. Several extrinsic and intrinsic variables may be implicated in peri-implant
marginal bone loss. Factors related to the implant itself include its geometry, dimensions and
interface between the prosthetic abutment and the implant, the three-dimensional position of
the implant, and its angle. Patient-related factors include the quantity and quality of hard and
soft tissue surrounding the implant, which are involved in maintaining the biological distances
between tooth and implant and from implant to implant [1].
The amount of bone tissue surrounding a narrow-diameter implant was likely to be smaller
than when placing a standard implant in the non-randomized studies included in this system-
atic review. This would justify the greater marginal bone loss with narrow-diameter implants.
A randomized clinical trial comparing the amount of peri-implant bone through postoperative
CBCT could provide further evidence to support or refute this assumption. In addition to
implant diameter, the type of platform and the position of the implant-abutment junction [15]
can also influence marginal bone loss. A systematic review comparing marginal bone loss with
platform-switching versus platform-matching implants, which pooled the outcomes of 15 pub-
lications with data from 642 patients followed up for 1 year, suggested greater bone loss with
platform matching [16]. Among the three studies included in the analysis of marginal bone
loss in this review, Andersen [4] reported higher values for narrow implants, which accounted
for the statistical difference observed in the meta-analysis that included all eligible intervention
studies. A stratified analysis, evaluating the joint effect of implant diameter and of different
implant platforms and apicocoronal positions, is necessary for a better understanding of the
factors associated with marginal bone loss.
The included studies reported on implants placed in different regions of the oral cavity.
Santing et al. [14] reported on implants placed in the anterior and first premolar regions, while
Fig 4. Forest plot of all intervention studies comparing marginal bone loss between narrow and standard implants.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225046.g004
Fig 5. Forest plot of randomized clinical trials comparing marginal bone loss between narrow and standard implants.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225046.g005
de Souza et al. [13] placed implants only in the posterior region. Ioannidis et al [8,12] placed
implants in the anterior and premolar area, and Andersen et al. [4], in the anterior maxilla.
This variability hindered analysis of the potential impact of implant location. Another aspect
to be considered in the data analysis is the reason for tooth loss. Of the articles included in this
review, only Santing et al. reported this information; the most frequent cause in their series
was tooth fracture (n = 29), followed by endodontic failure (n = 19), root resorption (n = 5),
periodontal disease (n = 4) and agenesis (n = 3). Andersen et al. [4] performed immediate pro-
visionalization in the narrow implants. Although there is concern about the incidence of mas-
ticatory forces on the implants immediately after placement, clinical maneuvers to minimize
osseointegration failure and marginal bone loss may be employed regardless of implant diame-
ter [17]. These unique characteristics of the different included studies should be considered
when analyzing the results of this meta-analysis.
Longevity or success can be assessed from several aspects [18]. In this review, the criteria
for implant longevity were osseointegration and preserved function at clinical evaluation.
Implant failures reported in primary studies occur most often in the earliest stage of follow-up
(first 6 months), mainly during the process of osseointegration. After this initial period, there
were practically no implant failures. However, the narrow implants were associated with
greater marginal bone loss, which clinically, in the long term, may represent a concern to the
clinician, considering the possibility of cosmetic issues such as retraction of the peri-implant
mucosa due to decreased bone support, as well as facilitating the development of peri-implan-
titis [19].
A previous systematic review with meta-analysis published addressing the comparison nar-
row-diameter (�3.3-mm) versus standard-diameter implants [20,21]. In general, these studies
showed no difference in longevity and marginal bone loss between diameters. These previous
studies grouped implants without distinction as to the type of prosthesis supported. Their sur-
vival data were also mixed, referring to narrow implants rehabilitating fully edentulous arches
(i.e., supporting removable or fixed complete dentures), as well as partially edentulous ones
(supporting removable partial dentures, fixed partial dentures, and single crowns). Further-
more, observational studies were grouped with interventional studies. The decision to limit
this systematic review to implants of 3.3 mm or narrower diameter and supporting single
crowns only aimed to present clinicians with data on the survival of these biomaterials, which
provide advantages such as less need for alveolar ridge augmentation prior to implant place-
ment, less need for orthodontic movement to recover reduced prosthetic spaces, and improved
aesthetic outcomes in the anterior zone [22] enhancing the quality of peri-implant tissues.
Another, more recent review [23] also focused on studies of narrow implants, comparing these
with standard-diameter implants, and including subgroup analyses stratified by diameter (<3
mm, <3.0–3.25 mm, and 3.3–3.5 mm). This review found that the longevity of implants less
than 3.0 mm in diameter was shorter than that of standard implants. However, this review also
failed to discriminate between implants as to the type of prosthesis supported (single or multi-
ple, fixed or removable). Non-splinted implants are subject to greater overload than those
splinted by prosthetic structures [24]. Furthermore, we present a meta-analysis of marginal
bone loss.
We chose to conduct our analysis considering implants lost to follow-up as failures and
then recalculate longevity, in order to complete a sensitivity analysis, seeking to attenuate any
reporting bias. However, considering the longevity reported by the authors of the primary
studies, without sensitivity analysis, the effect size measures of the meta-analyses would remain
similar, with a risk ratio for success of narrow implants of 0.98 [0.92, 1.03]. Such sensitivity
analyses are of the utmost importance when studying treatment longevity, since patient losses
to follow-up can have a significant impact on estimated longevity. Considering the success rate
of narrow-diameter implants in observational studies, a sensitivity analysis considering losses
to follow-up might reduce success rates from nearly 100% to less than 90% [4,12,13,25].
Supporting information
S1 PRISMA Checklist.
(PDF)
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Professors Carlos Alberto Feldens, Gustavo Frainer Barbosa, and Otacı́lio
Luı́s Chagas Júnior for their important suggestions during the conduction of this study.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization: Lucas Henrique Telles, Fernando Freitas Portella, Elken Gomes Rivaldo.
Data curation: Lucas Henrique Telles, Fernando Freitas Portella, Elken Gomes Rivaldo.
Formal analysis: Lucas Henrique Telles, Fernando Freitas Portella, Elken Gomes Rivaldo.
Funding acquisition: Lucas Henrique Telles, Fernando Freitas Portella, Elken Gomes Rivaldo.
Investigation: Lucas Henrique Telles, Fernando Freitas Portella, Elken Gomes Rivaldo.
Methodology: Lucas Henrique Telles, Fernando Freitas Portella, Elken Gomes Rivaldo.
Project administration: Lucas Henrique Telles, Fernando Freitas Portella, Elken Gomes
Rivaldo.
Software: Fernando Freitas Portella.
Supervision: Lucas Henrique Telles, Fernando Freitas Portella, Elken Gomes Rivaldo.
Validation: Lucas Henrique Telles, Fernando Freitas Portella, Elken Gomes Rivaldo.
Visualization: Lucas Henrique Telles, Fernando Freitas Portella, Elken Gomes Rivaldo.
Writing – original draft: Lucas Henrique Telles, Fernando Freitas Portella, Elken Gomes
Rivaldo.
Writing – review & editing: Lucas Henrique Telles, Fernando Freitas Portella, Elken Gomes
Rivaldo.
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